Halimah
PhD student , University College Cork, Ireland
Title: Effects of Brown seaweed species on Physicochemical and Sensory properties of low-salt, low-fat sausages
Biography
Biography: Halimah
Abstract
Meat and processed meat products are one of the major sources of salt and fat to our diet, and consumption increases the threat of attracting chronic diseases such as obesity, cancer and cardiovascular diseases. Seaweeds contain a range of minerals and compounds (e.g. hydrocolloids) which may enhance healthiness and also confer physicochemical properties similar to salt (taste) and fat (texture) ingredients in sausage formulations. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of brown (Himanthalia elongata- Sea spaghetti and Alaria esculenta- Irish wakame) commercially available seaweed species on the physicochemical and sensory properties of low-salt, low-fat sausage formulations. Sea spaghetti and Irish wakame (2.5 %) were incorporated into sausage formulations (3*3 factorial) with varying salt (0.5, 1 & 1.5 %) and fat (10, 15 & 20 %) contents and a control (25 % fat, 2 % salt & 0 % seaweed). Nutritional (proximate composition, salt content), colour (CIE L*a*b), texture (TPA), water holding capacity (WHC), cook loss and sensory properties (10 cm hedonic scale) were assessed. Protein, moisture, ash, pH, salt and cook loss levels of seaweed-enriched sausages varied relative to the control (p<0.05). Seaweed-enriched sausages had lower L*a*b values relative to the controls (p<0.05). In sea spaghetti-enriched sausages, the overall acceptability of all treatments were equivalent to the control and for Irish wakame-enriched sausages, 8 out of 9 treatments were equivalent to the control (p<0.05) indicating acceptance by sensory panellists. Overall results indicate that brown seaweed species can be incorporated into low-salt, low-fat sausage formulations without negatively influencing the sensory properties of the sausages.